Ornamential wind-wheel



P. F. DENNING.

ORNAMENTAL WIND WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 23. 1917- 1,310,234. Patented July 15, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH cu, WASHINGTON, I). c

P. F. DENNING.

ORNAMENTAL WIND WHEEL. APPLICATION FILED MAY 23. 1917.

1,3 1 0,234, Patented July 15, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET Z- PATRICK FRANCIS DENNING, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

r ORNAMENTPAI WIND-WHEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 15, 1919.

Application filed May 23, 1917. Serial No. 170,573.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PATRICK F. DENNING, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Ornamental Wind-\Vheels, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to anornamental or display device having members adapted to be rotated by air currents and present an attractive appearance tothe eye. The device is well adapted for mounting on an automobile, particularly on the fillin tube of the radiator, and stand in a vertica l posia tion at the front of the machine and be rotated by the air as the machine travels. To this end I have provided a bracketadapted to be clamped about the filling tube of the radiator, on the forward side of the bracket being a horizontal bearing carrying a plurality of nested wind wheels. 'It is desirable to have three wheels which may be respectively of different colors. I also arrange the bracket so that it may carry upright flag staffs from which suitable flag-s or pennants may extend rearwardly.

My invention is hereinafter more fully described in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the essential char acteristics are summarized in the claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of my ornamental wind wheel in place on an automobile radiator; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the wheels; Fig; 3 is a vertical central section along the axis of rotation of the wheels; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the supporting bracket for the wheels; Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the hub portion of one of the wheels; Fig. 6 is a cross section through one of the flag staffs and through a metal flag carried thereby.

In Fig. 1, A indicates an automobile radiator having the usual upright filling tube 11. About thistube is clamped the bracket 10 which constitutes themain frame of my device. This/bracket :is .shown in perspective in Fig. 4, and may be a stamping from a single piece of sheetmetal. It has two arcual straps 11 having flattened ends 12 provided with eyes adapted to register. On the other ends of the arcual straps is a partially tubular portion 13 with which the strap ends merge and which at its forward end is flattened into a horizontal ledge 14 from which extends upwardly a vertical flat plate 15, at the top of which is a rearwardly extending horizontal ledge 16. The upright plate 16 carries a forwardly extending pin 17 on which the wheels are supported, as hereinafter explained. The bracket described is adapted to be secured in place by a suitable bolt 19 extending through theeyes of the flattened portions 12. As shown, there are three wheels of successivelysmaller size, indicated generally by 20, 30 and 40'. Each wheel is shown as made of a sheet metal disk cut radially intosectors and each sector twisted to provide a wind vane. The largest and smallest wheels 20 and 40 are rigidly mounted on the opposite ends of a tube 50. This whole structure is mounted on the pin 17 and rotates as.a unit thereon. The intermediate wheel 30 is mounted on the tube 50 and rotates with reference to it.

It will be seen from Fig. 2 that the sectors of the wheels 20 and 10 are tipped in the same direction, whereas the intermediate wheel 30 has-its sectors tipped in the other direction, with the result that the intermediate wheel rotates in the opposite direction to the other two wheels.

The larger wheels 20 and 30 preferably have their vanes stiffened by radial ribs pressed into them, as shown at 28 and 38 respectively. I prefer to make the vanes warped, or in curves concave forwardly both in radial linesand circumferentially. This articular compound curvature causes a very eflicient rotation of the wheel as it travels through the air.

The effect of the dishing of the wheels is to concentrate the air action, allowing it to pass freely through intermediate portions of the wheel and restricting its passing over the ends of the sectors. This increases the driving pressure. Furthermore, where a plurality of wheels are employed as shown, the rear wheels receive more air than where the blades of forward wheels are fiat and allow the air to spill over the ends central portion of the wheel 20 which holds it at right angles to the axis and against wabbling motion when rotating. Such balancing member is shown at 25. It consists of a saucer-shaped sheet metal member embracing the tube 50 and having lugs 26 at its ends which extend through the body of the wheel 20. The central portion of the wheel may be bowed oppositely to this saucershaped addition as shown at 22 in Figs. 3 and 5. This makes a stiff and firm construction. The addition also forms a suitable stop restricting the position of the intermediate wheel.

The intermediate wheel 30 is formed at its center in a similar manner to the wheel 20. That is to say, it is bowed rearwardly at 32 while on its forward side is secured a saucershaped member 35 having lugs 36 extending through and bent against the body of the wheel 30. The wheel 30 thus has two bearing edges on the tube 50 which enables it to readily rotate thereon. Its longitudinal shifting is prevented by the rear face of the wheel 40 and the forward face of the boss 25 of the rear wheel.

The forward wheel and the rear wheel are, as stated, rigidly connected together as a unit and the metal of these members extends across the ends of the tube and is perforated on the axis of the tube (as illustrated at 27 in Fig. 5), to provide a bearing embracing the pin 17 with sufficient looseness to allow easy rotation.

The frame pin 17 which carries the wheels, preferably has a head 18 on its forward end and is rigidly clamped at its rear end to the upright plate 15 of the bracket. It is convenient to thread the pin 18 and provide it with two nuts 61 and 62 which engage opposite sides of the vertical plate 15. The forward nut provides a rear limit to the position of the wheels, and the two nuts effect a tight clamping of the pin to the bracket.

It is desirable to provide means whereby the bracket 10 may carry one or more fla s. To effect this, I form alined openings in t e bottom ledge 1 1 and the overhanging top 16 of the bracket in which may be mounted the staffs of the flags. Thus at 70 and 71 (Fig. 4), are central openings for a tall central staff and at either side of this smaller openings 72 and 73 for carrying small flag staffs. The larger central staff is shown at 80 in Figs. 1 and 3, and the smaller staffs at 82. These staffs are preferably tubular members made from rolled strips of metal, and are adapted to stand in the respective openings. Each tube may have an outward bulge, as illustrated at 83 and 84, to form a collar resting on the top of the ledge 16.

The flags carried by the staffs may be of any desired form and are preferably of some stiff material, as sheet metal. I have indicated at 85 a flag carried by the central staff and at 86 a smaller flag carried by one of the side staffs. 87 indicates a pennant which may be carried by the central staff below and out of engagement with the main flag.

The flags may be secured to their staffs in any desired manner. It is very convenient to leave a slot along the staff and extend the flag through this slot and diametrically across the staff, the flag being provided at its end with lugs which extend through the staff and are bent on the outer side thereof. This is illustrated at 89 in Fig. 1 and in cross section on an enlarged scale in Fig. 6.

My ornamental wind wheel is very cheaply constructed. The body of each wheel member is a sheet metal stamping, the reinforcing hubs of the larger wheels being also a sheet metal stamping. The bracket is likewise a stamping and the flags and their staffs may be made of sheet metal. When the wind wheels are properl colored (red, white and blue, for exampleg, and suitable flags provided, an attractive display is produced. The wheels rotate freely and noiselessly, and the flags stream to the rear in a desired manner as the automobile travels.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a device of the character described, the combination with a suitable support having a horizontal bearin pin, of a rotary member mounted on said pin and comprising a wind wheel and a tubular hub therefor, said tubular hub secured to the wind wheel by means of lugs on the end of the hub bending transversely of the wheel.

2. The combination with a supporting bearing, of a pair of wind wheels, a tube between the wind wheels and secured at its ends to the respective wheels.

3. In a device of the character described, the combinationwith a support, of a pair of concentric wind wheels rigidly connected by a hub and rotatively mounted on the support, and an intermediate wind wheel rotatively mounted on the hub.

4:. In a device of the character described, the combination of a bracket adapted to be clamped about the fillin tube of an automobile radiator and having a forwardly proj ecting pin, a pair of concentric wind wheels rigidly connected by a hub and rotatively mounted on said pin, and an intermediate wind wheel rotatively mounted on the hub.

5. In a device of the .character described, the combination, with a support, of a pair of concentric wind wheels rigidly connected by a hub and rotatively mounted on the support, and an intermediate wind wheel rotatively mounted on the hub, the forward wheel being comparatively small, the rear wheel comparatively large and the intermediate wheel of an intermediate size.

port having a horizontal bearing pin, a pair of wind wheels, and a tube between the wind wheels having lugs extending through the wllgeels and rigidly securing them to the tu e.

7. The combination with a suitable support having a horizontal pin, a pair of wind wheels, a tube between the wind wheels having lugs extending through the wheels and rigidly securing them to the tube, the metal of the wheels extending inwardly at the ends of the tube and forming bearings on the pin.

8. The combination of a supporting bracket, a pin projecting therefrom, a pair of wind wheels having a hub mounted on said pin and an intermediate wind wheel located between the two first mentioned and of an intermediate size and rotatable relatively to the hub.

9. The combination of a bracket adapted to be secured to the filling neck of an automobile radiator and havin a forwardly projecting arm with an uprlght portion, a wind wheel carried by the upright portion, a flag staff also carried by the upright portion, and a flag carried by the flag stafi'.

' 10. In a device of the character described, the combination of a bracket adapted to be clamped about an upright standard, said bracket having a forwardly extending arm and an upright plate with an overhanging ledge at the top, a pin secured to the upright plate, a wind wheel mounted on'said pin, and a flag having its staff mounted in said overhangin ledge.

11. The comblnation of a bracket having means for securing it to an automobile radiator, said bracket having an upright portion with an overhanging top, an opening through such top alining with a lower opening in the bracket, a flag having its staff mounted in said opening, a pin secured to the upright portion of the arm and extending forwardly, and a wind wheel rotatably mounted on the pin.

12. In a wind wheel, the combination with a support, of a rotary member j ournaled on the support and consisting of a disk cut in sectors, the individual sectors being twisted to make wind vanes and also dished to conccntrate the air action.

13. In a Wind wheel, the combination with a support, of a, rotary member journaled on the support and consisting of a disk cut in sectors, and each sector being curved both radially and circumferentially, the circumferential curves being non-concentric.

14:. In a device of the character described, the combination of two wind wheels, one in front of the other, the forward wind wheel being smaller and both being provided with twisted vanes, each of which vanes is curved in a manner to present a dish-shaped wheel.

15. In a device of the character described, the combination with a large wind wheel and a small wind wheel, and a hub connecting them, of an intermediate sized wind wheel, rotatably mounted on said hub, the large wheel and the intermediate sized wheel being dish shaped and each consisting of twisted sectors.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aflix my signature.

PATRICK FRANCIS DENNING.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G" 

